Feng Xing: Chapter 82
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Translation: marchmallow
Feng Sheng joined halfway through and actually couldn’t quite understand most of it.
However, she could roughly make out some of the ideas. The gist was that the Wei Prince Manor was currently drawing in forces through more furtive and indiscreet means.
This was Prince Wei’s intention. Two of his aides seemed to have varying opinions and were urging him to reconsider, because once they gathered forces, losses they couldn’t recompense would crop up in the later period.
However, Prince Wei was very stubborn. Since he had made up his mind, it was hard for anyone to change it.
The atmosphere inevitably stagnated, and Feng Sheng felt a gaze fall on her. She looked over, and her sight landed on a person dressed in scholarly fashion, around forty years of age. He was one of the people who had advised Prince Wei to reconsider.
There was a hint of resentment in his eyes, and Feng Sheng was fully aware why he was peering at herself that way.
“His Highness is right. Now that the Crown Prince has been deposed, His Majesty’s suspicions are running high. Rather than making a big splash, shifting public attention to someone else is the better option.”
The voice of a woman disturbed the silence. It was Feng Sheng who spoke.
For a while, the eyes of those present flickered, feeling as though it was wrong to respond, but also as though it was wrong not to respond.
Mao Shan directed his gaze at her, wearing an insincere smile as he remarked, “Princess Consort, this one fears that such words carry selfish motives.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the room became so quiet that even the drop of a needle could be heard.
Zuo Yi had known for a long time that his good friend was arrogant and unyielding by nature. However, never would he have thought that he would do such a crude and impetuous thing. Prince Wei undoubtedly doted on the Princess Consort. Even if Zuo Yi had some grievances in his heart, he simply put up with it. Why would Mao Shan spew such blunt words to her face? This was simply incurring so great a disaster.
What he didn’t know was that Mao Shan had been following Prince Wei for many years and had witnessed his elaborative undertakings, only to lose everything for a woman. He naturally harbored resentment in his heart. Since he couldn’t vent to Prince Wei, he couldn’t help but unleash his dissent on Feng Sheng. He had planned to ultimately leave the Wei Prince Manor, even doing his best to provoke Prince Wei’s anger as the instigating factor in finalizing his departure. He wanted this woman to lose face and put her in her place. To do so, he had no intention of showing even the slightest trace of shame.1
Never would he have expected that Feng Sheng would not be the least bit perturbed and, maintaining her impassivity, would only reply, “As husband and wife, His Highness and I are one. What selfish motives can I possibly have?”
Prince Wei’s originally raised eyebrows fell. His mood greatly improving, he lifted the tea he was holding for a sip.
“You only count how much His Highness has lost but disregard the Emperor’s heart. Why did the Crown Prince fall? Was it really because of Fang Feng Fu? Everyone wanted him to fall, but the person who wanted him to fall the most was none other than His Majesty.”
“How absurd! His Majesty has always wanted to protect the Crown Prince, and the whole world knows it.”
“Don’t declare it untrue just because you lack foresight. If His Majesty hadn’t wanted him to fall, would Fang Feng Fu have reached the capital? Even an esteemed salt distribution commissioner died of illness on the road to the capital, why not an unworthy Fang Feng Fu? If His Majesty had truly wanted to protect the Crown Prince, Fang Feng Fu, let alone entering the capital, would not have been able to speak in the Court of Judicial Review. His soul would’ve already returned to the Nine Serenities.”2
As she enunciated these words, Feng Sheng’s countenance was extremely cold. She kept her eyes downcast as she drank her tea, and only when she uttered ‘don’t declare it untrue’ did she raise her head to glance at Mao Shan.
With just that one glance, Mao Shan was befuddled.
Prince Wei listened to her spout every single word about her hypothetical death as if it had nothing to do with her, and his sword-like brows unconsciously furrowed.
“The Crown Prince had been the crown prince for more than twenty years. The power of the Crown Prince’s connections had already threatened imperial power. Even if the nine and five reigning supreme3 wanted to depose him, there had to be some justified reason. Let’s assume that the person who actually wanted to depose the Crown Prince the most was His Majesty, then what would his next move be?”
On the surface, the Jianping Emperor did not want to depose the Crown Prince. He did too many things overtly and covertly to prevent it from happening, but was unfortunately powerless to reverse the situation. Should all this merely be a play in the emperor’s mind, then that man, who was over fifty years of age, who wanted to be emperor for several more decades, and whose dragon body was still healthy and robust, would certainly take advantage of someone pulling down the Crown Prince to precipitate a purge.
Purge who?
Naturally, it was those sons who expended strong efforts in the Crown Prince’s deposition.
A weak father with strong sons was the last thing an emperor wanted to be, especially since each and every one of his sons were growing stronger as time passed. During her imprisonment at the Court of Judicial Review, if the Jianping Emperor had wanted to kill her, Feng Sheng had been wondering why he had gone to such lengths to escort her to the capital and even had those officials act out a play as they accompanied her in the Court of Judicial Review.
Did he really want to protect the Crown Prince?
No, from the very beginning, Feng Sheng’s surefire move against the Crown Prince banked on the conjecture that the Jianping Emperor also wanted to depose the Crown Prince. All her plans had been centered on that, so if the Jianping Emperor had wanted to protect the Crown Prince, no way would she have advanced to this step. Having dragged matters that far, since it wasn’t to protect the Crown Prince, Feng Sheng could only surmise that behind it must have been a conspiracy. The only possibility she could think of was——to probe and to purge.
To probe not only the Crown Prince’s connections, but also other princes who had resorted to intrigues to seize the great throne with their clandestine strength. When a large enough pie hung in the air, it was enough to drive everyone to abandon their rationality.
She was the string suspending that pie. Perhaps her identity, and even her schemes, had already been entirely in the Jianping Emperor’s clutches. She was never the driving force of this chess game, the Jianping Emperor was.
Since even her schemes had been taken into account, how could Prince Wei hide what he had been concealing? Prince Wei had probably also thought of this, so he cut off all his means of retreat and confessed everything to the Jianping Emperor, using the lasting affection between man and woman to clearly express his position.
Cold sweat trickled down as Mao Shan was deliberating, and others were no better than him. The calmest in the room were probably only Prince Wei and Feng Sheng.
“You must be a remarkable strategist loyal enough to His Highness, else you wouldn’t be sitting here. When I told you that you lack foresight, it wasn’t to derogate you. However, your stance had always been from the perspective of a strategist, not an emperor, and not even a prince. The influence the Crown Prince has is all hinged on His Majesty. If His Majesty wants to take it away, he can easily do so. How do you know that His Highness’s current situation didn’t stem from His Majesty’s tacit acceptance? If such is the case, should it still be difficult to choose between taking and giving up?”
It was naturally still difficult to choose. The crux of this matter, everyone had expected and understood. But if one had truly experienced the feeling of power, or even grew close to it step after step, who could truly give it up completely?
Once you gave up, you not only bet on your luck, but also on your life.
“The great man is he who is in harmony, in his attributes, with heaven and earth; in his brightness, with the sun and moon; in his orderly procedure, with the four seasons; and in his relation to what is fortunate and what is calamitous, in harmony with the spirit-like operations of Providence. He may precede Heaven, and Heaven will not act in opposition to him; he may follow Heaven, but will act only as Heaven at the time would do. If Heaven will not act in opposition to him, how much less will men? How much less will the spirit-like operation of Providence?① “
This passage had countless interpretations, and even many gifted scholars could formulate a multitude of splendid essays gleaning from it. However, if explained by Feng Sheng, it was a line of verse that meant nothing else but to push the boat with the current.4
Her father had taught her this, and it was also an important secret her ancestors in the Fang Clan had imparted, passed down only to the direct line of descent. She had once been curious as to what made it so mysterious, but never would she have expected it to be merely a passage known to the world.
But to truly achieve it, not even a handful of people could.
For this reason, she purposely wrote it on her fan, reminding herself of it at all times.
Leaving that behind, Feng Sheng walked away as she thought of Fang Yan.
……
The room was still silent, and the soft sound of Prince Wei placing the teacup disrupted it.
“Everything has gone according to plan.”
This time, no one raised any objections.
*
Prince Wei stepped out of the study and saw Feng Sheng standing in the corridor.
She was dressed in a red-orange buttoned summer jacket with tapestry brocade and a lilac-colored pleated skirt with loose flower patterns inlaid with pearls, with butterflies embroidered on the lower part of the skirt.5 She stood with her back to Prince Wei, her posture upright and attractive. She was clearly so slender, but no one dared to underestimate her.
Prince Wei ambled over and embraced her from behind.
“What are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking about my dad. I’ve been too busy the past years. I haven’t thought of him in a long time.”
Prince Wei responded with an ‘oh?’, his tone at the end of the syllable rising.
“I’m still wondering why the man who educated me died so easily. Is it really like what Uncle Yu said, that there are things that you know you can’t do, but you still do it even at the cost of your own life?” When all was said and done, Feng Sheng was still unable to let go of Fang Yan’s death.
Hearing the perplexity in her voice, Prince Wei sighed softly and rubbed her fingers. “Don’t think too much. The matter is already in the past. When everything is finished, this prince will accompany you back to Shaoxing.”
The transfer of Fang Yan’s tomb to the ancestral grave was all arranged by Uncle Yu. Because of the grand wedding, Feng Sheng hadn’t gone to see it.
“Good.” Feng Sheng nodded and said, “When we return from Shaoxing, let’s open an academy.”
“An academy?”
“Will you, a prince, really throw everything away and do nothing?”
Of course not. Doing nothing was fine to a certain extent. Doing absolutely nothing, however, was akin to offering one’s life to another. To leave his life in the hands of another, to have someone else decide what to do with him, this was not in line with Prince Wei’s character.
“So, opening an academy is a pretty good choice.”
*
Prince Wei and Feng Sheng departed for Shaoxing.
Before they left, they entered the palace to bid farewell to Consort Li.
It was evident that Consort Li’s days had been well as of late, as her face was wreathed in smiles.
Because Prince Wei had planted someone in the palace, he knew right away that she had been recently favored by the emperor.
Consort Li’s favor was based on the Emperor’s unfailing doting for over twenty years. No matter how many newcomers were added to the palace, the Jianping Emperor always came to see her a few times a month. However, this time, it was completely different. In a month, the Jianping Emperor would only enter the imperial harem a dozen times, and every time, he would come to the Xianfu Palace. Occasionally, he would summon Consort Li to the Qianqing Palace to accompany him, so Consort Li was recently very popular inside the palace.
The Jianping Emperor had not visited the Empress was for quite a time. With the deposition of the Crown Prince, the situation in Kunning palace had become quite desolate. Many once again brought up matters of the past, saying that Empress Chen, who had once supported Consort Li, in the end became her opponent.
Those who had circulated the rumors were still the same type of people as before, still muddling through their own lives, experiencing their own taste of sour and sweet.
“It’s also a good thing for you two to go on a trip. Recently, it hasn’t been too peaceful both inside and outside the palace. Don’t worry about Consort Mother. Consort Mother has been in this palace for decades and knows how to live well.”
Consort Li was sending her son and daughter-in-law away with a smile, but Feng Sheng’s heart felt a bit sour.
“It would be nice if we could one day take Consort Mother away.”6 Although Consort Li kept smiling, Feng Sheng could tell that she didn’t like the palace.
Prince Wei clenched his fist. “That day will come.”
Author’s Note:
① From I Ching (The Book of Changes). The following are from Baidu:
[Translation] A sage whose virtues and talent exceed a regular man’s will learn the changes of the heaven, the earth, and nature so that his actions will conform to the laws of nature; he will learn the movements of the sun and the moon so that his actions will conform to the laws of light; he will learn the changes of the seasons so that his actions will conform to the laws of the alternating seasons; he will learn the hidden and mysterious phenomena so that he can predict the consequences of his future actions. He may precede Heaven, and Heaven will not act in opposition to him; he may follow Heaven, but will act only as Heaven at the time would do. If Heaven will not act in opposition to him, how much less will men? How much less will the spirit-like operation of Providence?*
~
I think the idea is to be in accordance with the will of heaven, which probably means that (the gentleman, the superior man) ought to act in accordance with the will of heaven and earth, to have the brilliance of the sun and moon, to be able to follow the order (or rule) of the seasons, and to be able to follow the fortunes of demons and spirits. It should mainly be about doing things in accordance with the will of heaven!
* Wordy, I know. Briefly put, as FFS says, go with the flow of things and do as it suits the situation. Never go against the current. I think the saying 順水推舟 fits what she says perfectly: to push the boat with the current; to take advantage of the situation for one’s own benefit.
1 Basically, Mao Shan seemed to have lost faith in Prince Wei, so he planned to leave Prince Wei Manor (aka Prince Wei’s faction). Mao Shan wanted to at least shame FFS as revenge and leave the manor under the guise of Prince Wei’s fury, since Prince Wei tends to say ‘get lost’ when angered. As Prince Wei’s aide, Mao Shan could only get dismissed but not leave on his own.
2 九幽: refers to the underworld. Alternative name is Nine Serenities. [Snowy] says I have no idea which beliefs this belongs to, but it seems Buddhism inspired. Most likely folk belief, as it is a combination of Buddhism and Daoism, as most Chinese folk beliefs are.
3 九五至尊: in English means “9 and 5 reign supreme”. According to ancient Chinese beliefs, the number 9 ranks as the highest number, and the number 5 is a “middle” , or “central” number. Thus 9 and 5 together came to be regarded as a supreme combination which symbolized the emperor.
4 順水推舟: lit. to push the boat with the current; fig. to take advantage of the situation for one’s own benefit
5 Something close to these outfits:
6 As in, move her out of the palace to live with Prince Wei. But she is forever stuck in the palace, since it’s impossible for her to leave according to the rules and regulations. An emperor’s concubine’s life and afterlife is forever bound to the palace, unless her death is faked, which is pretty risky.
